Lugging laundry from your hamper to the washing machine is a task most of us dread. And if you’ve got to go to the laundromat, finding the perfect number of quarters is another added obstacle. This Friday, attend Wash, Rinse, Wring, Repeat!: 19th-Century Laundry at Home and you’ll never complain again. At the event, see if you can take the heat as you clean your batch of laundry just like Americans did at home during the 19th century. After the program, visit Within These Wallsto learn more about the laundry life of families in the 1880s. This event repeats at the same time Saturday, Sunday and Mondays this month. Free. 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. outside on the South side Mall terrace, American History Museum.

One hundred artworks—paintings, sculpture, prints, and photographs—by 43 black artists who explored the African American experience are on display at the American Art Museum. The artists highlight the Harlem Renaissance through the Civil Rights era and beyond—decades that saw tremendous change in African American life. Included in the exhibit are paintings by Benny Andrews, Jacob Lawrence and Lois Mailou Jones, and photographs by Roy deCarava, Gordon Parks, Roland Freeman and Marilyn Nance. More than half the artworks are on view at the museum for the first time, and 10 works are recent acquisitions. Exhibition through September 3. Free. American Art Museum.

For a complete listing of Smithsonian events and exhibitions visit the goSmithsonian Visitors Guide. Additional reporting by Michelle Strange.

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